Tag Archives: christmas

Homemade treats are great gifts for the holidays, whether you want to bake cookies or make candies. One of the easiest – and tastiest – treats to make is chocolate bark. Chocolate bark, in its simplest form, is a relatively thin sheet of chocolate studded with nuts, dried fruits or even candies. The sheet of bark is set and then broken into uneven pieces to ... Read More »

I used food coloring to put a swirl into my candy cane cupcakes. Nestle clearly had the same idea when they came up with their Swirled Holiday Morsels – a.k.a. red, white and green white baking chips. Their chips have broader applications than my cupcakes do and are an interesting way to help us infuse a little color into our holiday baking. The chips are ... Read More »

Everyone does cookies for Christmas. There are lots and lots of variations you can choose from – from sugar cookies to chocolate sandwich cookies to frosting-kissed butter cookies – and one batch of cookies is almost always enough to serve a big crowd. The downside to cookies is that it’s hard to stand out on a holiday dessert table with something that lies so close ... Read More »

Panettone is a sweet yeast bread that originated in Milan, Italy. Served most often at Christmas, though it is also baked for other occasions, the tender bread is baked as a tall round (either a cylinder or an octagon) and filled with things like raisins, candied citrus and nuts. Sometimes the bread is spiked with a bit of rum or another liquour, or else the ... Read More »

For just about every holiday, there are some flavors that just seem to naturally fit right into the overall feel of the season. Christmas in particular has a lot of flavors associated with it, as families often stick with the same traditional foods year after year. Cranberry Orange bread is a staple not only for my family, but for lots and lots of the people ... Read More »

Baked goods are fantastic gifts during the holidays. They’re always well-received at parties and gatherings and while they’re fun and often easy to make, they don’t quite offer the convenience of a store bought gift – especially if you want to ship off your present to friends or family that don’t live locally. To do this, not only do you need an idea of what treat you want to make, ... Read More »

Let’s face it: most of us at-home chefs and bakers don’t have much use for a chef’s jacket. Most of the people I know don’t even bother with an apron (unless it’s a really cute one), relying instead on a conveniently placed kitchen towel or two. But if you love to cook, there is something undeinably appealing about a chef’s jacket. They look good and ... Read More »

‘Tis the season for eggnog, that nutmeg-spiced, custardy, boozy beverage that is so popular around the holidays. It tastes delicious and is oh-so-rich. The richness, unfortunately, keeps me and most of my friends from drinking more than a very small serving at a time. To further enjoy that eggnog flavor, I decided to turn the drink into a batch of holiday cupcakes. My first impulse was ... Read More »